“WE DO NOT NEED DIRTY OIL DOLLARS AT THE COST OF ECOLOGIC CATASTROPHE”

PanARMENIAN.Net - We have already informed that representatives of 64 biggest ecologic organizations all over the world have addressed a message to international financial institutions demanding to stop providing credits for construction of the oil pipeline. During the autumn session of the IMF and the World Bank management bodies, they organized mass actions in Washington protesting against the “Baku-Ceyhan” project. Recently a new wave of protests has started. The representatives of the Netherlands Ministry of Nature Protection as well as independent experts from France have given a negative conclusion concerning the ecological security of the oil pipeline. Ecologists and hydrologists from Europe confirmed that the pipeline may lead to pollution of the mineral water in the Borzhomi gorge and of the soil in Kharaguli reserve. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Georgia has not come out with a final verdict up to now, but the Minister Nino Chkhobadze has said that the conclusions of the Netherlands and French experts will be taken into account.

The governmental commission of Georgia responsible for the ecological expertise of the project has also given a negative assessment to it. A list of claims, observations and questions containing 32 points was prepared and sent to the initiators of the project. According to scientist Solomon Tsabadze, member of the group, the main danger is that the route of the supposed pipeline passes through waterlogged parts as well as through the suburbs of the most famous Georgian resorts. There is a real danger of pollution of the Tsalki reservoir and the springs of the “Borzhomi” healing water. The President of the “Georgian Glass and Mineral Water” company Mamuka Khazaradze shares these concerns. According to him, the implementation of the project will lead to quitting of the tourist business – the main source of incomes for this region.

The experts studying the possible consequences of construction of the oil pipeline within the frames of the World Bank special project have also serious claims connected with the inevitable pollution of the environment. The specialists of the US Agency of International Development, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, and the German government have also criticized the project. The Georgian and foreign experts have presented more than 70 questions to the management of the consortium. However, most of them will hardly be solved, as in the very beginning it was announced that the route of the pipeline is already approved and new variants will not be considered. So, the attempts of the ecologists to convince the owners of the pipeline to modify its route in order to reduce the damages to the nature are senseless. The ecologists are expected to give a precise answer – either they approve the construction, or negate it. Now the management of the consortium studies the observations of the experts and prepares explanations for the disputable issues. The experts will have two weeks for “returning a final verdict.” After a month the time to sum up the results will come.

The scientific commission and expert groups just voice their assessment. Now it is evident that it will be negative. But the final word belongs to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Georgia. Will the Ministry officials have enough civil courage to do something contradicting the country’s official policy?